HOUSE OF LORDS DECISION ON CHAGOS

Early day motion 2333, tabled 22 October 2008 by Jeremy Corbyn (Labour). Signed by 59 members.

That this House recognises that Chagos Islanders were disgracefully treated by successive British governments, by their forced removal from Diego Garcia and the Archipelago and their impoverished life in Mauritius and the Seychelles; further notes that the indefatigable spirit of the Chagossians enabled them to win their Right to Return by a High Court decision in 2000; further notes that the late Robin Cook as Foreign Secretary accepted this decision in its entirety; deplores the Government's use of Orders in Council nearly four years later to overturn the High Court judgment and the failure to consult Parliament on the matter; further notes that the Chagossians have won successive legal judgments in the British courts and notes that by a majority verdict the House of Lords endorsed the Foreign Secretary's appeal, upholding the Orders in Council; nevertheless believes an historic injustice has been done, and that the Foreign Office should now open serious discussions with the Islanders on their mode of return and to provide sufficient funding from UK and European sources to enable justice.

Signatures by party: Labour 33, Liberal Democrat 17, Conservative 2, Independent 2, Scottish National Party 2, Social Democratic and Labour Party 2, Plaid Cymru 1.